[LorenPechtel]

Why does it matter? We have multiple examples that virtually certainly aren't lab related. Even if this was a lab oops doesn't make the others go away. This time it just hit the jackpot on being able to spread well: spread before symptoms. We don't have enough understanding of genetics to engineer this.

Covid is actually low in the lethality range for rampages from whatever is the underlying virus, it's just the others haven't spread so well. Finding that underlying virus could be useful, figuring out exactly how the zoonotic jump happened is simply an exercise in finger-pointing that will do nothing about the fact that they do happen naturally.

[foolfoolz]

this is the single most disruptive event on the planet of the last 80 years. understanding how it happened can help us prevent it from recurring

[makeitdouble]

Similar widespread infection happened a few years before with SARS. Many countries even had procedures and emergency medical stock from there, and just discarded it for budget reasons from 2018.

All this “prevent it from recurring” is cute but wont last long if history can tell.

[robomc]

I mean you're right. It's weird that people are fixated on the specific way this outbreak occurred. Any plausible and proven way an outbreak of roughly this type could occur is equally significant, and I think is pretty well understood. If there was a strong will to reduce those risks it could happen without us knowing any specifics.